Following the core outcome set standards for development(COS-STAD), this study aims to construct core outcome set(COS) for clinical research on traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) treatment of simple obesity. Firstly, a comprehensive review was conducted on the randomized controlled trial(RCT) and systematic review(SR) about TCM treatment of simple obesity that were published in Chinese and English databases to collect reported outcomes. Additional outcomes were obtained through semi-structured interviews with patients and open-ended questionnaire surveys for clinicians. All the collected outcomes were then merged and organized as an initial outcome pool, and then a preliminary list of outcomes was formed after discussion by the working group. Subsequently, two rounds of Delphi surveys were conducted with clinicians, methodology experts, and patients to score the importance of outcomes in the list. Finally, a consensus meeting was held to establish the COS for clinical research on TCM treatment of simple obesity. A total of 221 RCTs and 12 SRs were included, and after integration of supplementary outcomes, an initial outcome pool of 141 outcomes were formed. Following discussions in the steering advisory group meeting, a preliminary list of 33 outcomes was finalized, encompassing 9 domains. Through two rounds of Delphi surveys and a consensus meeting, the final COS for clinical research on TCM treatment of simple obesity was determined to include 8 outcomes: TCM symptom scores, body mass index(BMI), waist-hip ratio, waist circumference, visceral fat index, body fat rate, quality of life, and safety, which were classified into 4 domains: TCM-related outcomes, anthropometric measurements, quality of life, and safety. This study has preliminarily established a COS for clinical research on TCM treatment of simple obesity. It helps reduce the heterogeneity in the selection and reporting of outcomes in similar clinical studies, thereby improving the comparability of research results and the feasibility of meta-analysis and providing higher-level evidence support for clinical practice.
Humans ; Obesity/therapy* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Treatment Outcome ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*

Objective:To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of cases involving monkey injuries at medical institutions surrounding Qianlingshan Park in Guiyang City, and to provide a reference basis for preventive measures to reduce monkey injuries and standardized post-exposure treatment.Methods:A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted, collecting 1 900 cases of monkey-induced injuries in Qianlingshan Park treated at the outpatient clinic of Guizhou Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Surgery at Qianling Hospital, Guiyang City, from 2021 to 2024. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson′s chi-square test.Results:Total of 1 900 cases of monkey-related injuries in Qianlingshan Park were collected from 2021 to 2024. The exposure time distribution exhibited significant seasonality, with 48.58% of cases occurring during July and August, totaling 923 cases, indicating a peak in the summer. There were 774 male patients and 1 126 female patients, with a ratio of 1∶1.45.and significant differences were observed between different age groups and genders (χ2=195.00, P<0.001), with the highest number of cases occurring in the 0-9 and 20-29 age groups, accounting for 22.05%(419 cases) and 21.79%(414 cases), respectively. The upper limbs were the most common injury site, accounting for 50.84% of the total cases(966 cases in total), with significant differences between gender and injury location (χ2=22.00, P<0.001), Among females, the proportion of injuries to the upper and lower limbs (30.11% and 16.47%, respectively) was higher than that among males (20.74% and 8.63%, respectively). The majority of injuries were classified as Grade Ⅲ, making up 57.38% of cases(1 069 cases in total). Self-treatment after exposure was the most common approach(60.44%), with significant differences observed between wound severity and treatment method (χ2=6.90, P=0.032), Patients with Grade Ⅱ and Grade Ⅲ wounds were more likely to choose self-management (26.84% and 33.23%, respectively) than outpatient management (15.14% and 24.15%). Approximately 98.05% (1 863 cases) of monkey-injured patients had received rabies vaccinations. Conclusions:This study analyzes monkey-related injuries in Qianlingshan Park from 2021 to 2024, clarifying the temporal distribution of injuries, demographic characteristics, injury sites, and treatment methods. The findings provide references for optimizing human-monkey conflict management and the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases in urban ecological parks.

Objective:To investigate the significance of urinary 8-oxo-7, 8-dihydroguanosine(8-oxoGuo)in assessing the short-term prognosis of sepsis in frail elderly patients.Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 62 frail elderly patients diagnosed with sepsis who were admitted to the Emergency Intensive Care Unit(EICU)at Beijing Hospital between March 2021 and March 2022.Based on their 28-day prognosis, the patients were categorized into two groups: those who died and those who survived.Upon admission, we collected urine samples and clinical data from both groups.We employed isotope dilution high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to measure the levels of the RNA oxidation marker 8-oxoGuo in the urine.Results:A total of 62 frail elderly patients[aged(85.1±6.3)years]diagnosed with sepsis were included in the study, comprising 36 patients in the 28-day mortality group and 26 patients in the survival group.Univariate analysis revealed that the survival group had significantly lower body temperature, blood calcitonin(PCT)levels, sequential organ failure assessment(SOFA)scores, and urinary 8-oxoGuo levels compared to the mortality group.Additionally, the survival group exhibited a higher mean arterial pressure(MAP)than the mortality group, with all differences reaching statistical significance(all P<0.05).Spearman correlation analysis indicated that urinary 8-oxoGuo levels were positively correlated with both PCT and SOFA scores in frail elderly sepsis patients( r=0.426, 0.768, both P<0.05).Furthermore, logistic regression analysis identified urinary 8-oxoGuo and SOFA as independent risk factors for 28-day mortality in this population( OR=1.936, 1.427; P=0.006, 0.002).The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC)for urinary 8-oxoGuo and SOFA in predicting the 28-day prognosis of frail elderly sepsis patients was 0.761 and 0.741, respectively, both demonstrating statistical significance(both P<0.001). Conclusions:Our findings suggest that urinary 8-oxoGuo possesses strong predictive value for the short-term prognosis of sepsis in this vulnerable population.

Objective:To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of cases involving monkey injuries at medical institutions surrounding Qianlingshan Park in Guiyang City, and to provide a reference basis for preventive measures to reduce monkey injuries and standardized post-exposure treatment.Methods:A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted, collecting 1 900 cases of monkey-induced injuries in Qianlingshan Park treated at the outpatient clinic of Guizhou Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Surgery at Qianling Hospital, Guiyang City, from 2021 to 2024. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson′s chi-square test.Results:Total of 1 900 cases of monkey-related injuries in Qianlingshan Park were collected from 2021 to 2024. The exposure time distribution exhibited significant seasonality, with 48.58% of cases occurring during July and August, totaling 923 cases, indicating a peak in the summer. There were 774 male patients and 1 126 female patients, with a ratio of 1∶1.45.and significant differences were observed between different age groups and genders (χ2=195.00, P<0.001), with the highest number of cases occurring in the 0-9 and 20-29 age groups, accounting for 22.05%(419 cases) and 21.79%(414 cases), respectively. The upper limbs were the most common injury site, accounting for 50.84% of the total cases(966 cases in total), with significant differences between gender and injury location (χ2=22.00, P<0.001), Among females, the proportion of injuries to the upper and lower limbs (30.11% and 16.47%, respectively) was higher than that among males (20.74% and 8.63%, respectively). The majority of injuries were classified as Grade Ⅲ, making up 57.38% of cases(1 069 cases in total). Self-treatment after exposure was the most common approach(60.44%), with significant differences observed between wound severity and treatment method (χ2=6.90, P=0.032), Patients with Grade Ⅱ and Grade Ⅲ wounds were more likely to choose self-management (26.84% and 33.23%, respectively) than outpatient management (15.14% and 24.15%). Approximately 98.05% (1 863 cases) of monkey-injured patients had received rabies vaccinations. Conclusions:This study analyzes monkey-related injuries in Qianlingshan Park from 2021 to 2024, clarifying the temporal distribution of injuries, demographic characteristics, injury sites, and treatment methods. The findings provide references for optimizing human-monkey conflict management and the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases in urban ecological parks.

Objective:To investigate the significance of urinary 8-oxo-7, 8-dihydroguanosine(8-oxoGuo)in assessing the short-term prognosis of sepsis in frail elderly patients.Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 62 frail elderly patients diagnosed with sepsis who were admitted to the Emergency Intensive Care Unit(EICU)at Beijing Hospital between March 2021 and March 2022.Based on their 28-day prognosis, the patients were categorized into two groups: those who died and those who survived.Upon admission, we collected urine samples and clinical data from both groups.We employed isotope dilution high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to measure the levels of the RNA oxidation marker 8-oxoGuo in the urine.Results:A total of 62 frail elderly patients[aged(85.1±6.3)years]diagnosed with sepsis were included in the study, comprising 36 patients in the 28-day mortality group and 26 patients in the survival group.Univariate analysis revealed that the survival group had significantly lower body temperature, blood calcitonin(PCT)levels, sequential organ failure assessment(SOFA)scores, and urinary 8-oxoGuo levels compared to the mortality group.Additionally, the survival group exhibited a higher mean arterial pressure(MAP)than the mortality group, with all differences reaching statistical significance(all P<0.05).Spearman correlation analysis indicated that urinary 8-oxoGuo levels were positively correlated with both PCT and SOFA scores in frail elderly sepsis patients( r=0.426, 0.768, both P<0.05).Furthermore, logistic regression analysis identified urinary 8-oxoGuo and SOFA as independent risk factors for 28-day mortality in this population( OR=1.936, 1.427; P=0.006, 0.002).The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC)for urinary 8-oxoGuo and SOFA in predicting the 28-day prognosis of frail elderly sepsis patients was 0.761 and 0.741, respectively, both demonstrating statistical significance(both P<0.001). Conclusions:Our findings suggest that urinary 8-oxoGuo possesses strong predictive value for the short-term prognosis of sepsis in this vulnerable population.

As the search for effective treatments for COVID-19 continues, the high mortality rate among critically ill patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU) presents a profound challenge. This study explores the potential benefits of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a supplementary treatment for severe COVID-19. A total of 110 critically ill COVID-19 patients at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Vulcan Hill Hospital between Feb., 2020, and April, 2020 (Wuhan, China) participated in this observational study. All patients received standard supportive care protocols, with a subset of 81 also receiving TCM as an adjunct treatment. Clinical characteristics during the treatment period and the clinical outcome of each patient were closely monitored and analysed. Our findings indicated that the TCM group exhibited a significantly lower mortality rate compared with the non-TCM group (16 of 81 vs 24 of 29; 0.3 vs 2.3 person/month). In the adjusted Cox proportional hazards models, TCM treatment was associated with improved survival odds (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the analysis also revealed that TCM treatment could partially mitigate inflammatory responses, as evidenced by the reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and contribute to the recovery of multiple organic functions, thereby potentially increasing the survival rate of critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Humans ; COVID-19 ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Critical Illness ; Treatment Outcome

Humans ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)/genetics* ; Prognosis ; Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics* ; Mutation/genetics* ; Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf/metabolism*

Liver size is regulated by circadian clock and exhibits a diurnal rhythm. Pregnane X receptor (PXR) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), members of nuclear receptor superfamily, are important regulators of liver size. We previously demonstrated that mPXR agonist pregnenolone 16α-carbonitrile (PCN) and mPPARα agonist pirinixic acid (WY-14643) promoted liver enlargement and liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy. However, whether PXR or PPARα activation-induced liver enlargement exhibits diurnal rhythm with normal liver diurnal oscillations remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the diurnal rhythm of PXR or PPARα activation-induced liver enlargement. Male C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with corn oil, PCN or WY-14643 for three days, and liver samples were weighed and collected at various time points for analysis. The animal experiment protocol was reviewed and approved by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Sun Yat-sen University (approval No. SYSU-IACUC-2023-001613, SYSU-IACUC-2023-001783). The results showed that PXR or PPARα activation at various time points significantly induced liver enlargement, and liver size maintained normal diurnal oscillations during PXR or PPARα activation-induced hepatomegaly, without significant effects on the expression of core clock genes. This study reveals PXR or PPARα activation-induced liver enlargement exhibits diurnal rhythm with normal liver diurnal oscillations, and provides novel data for nuclear receptor-induced liver enlargement and liver diurnal rhythm.

Objective: To study the incubation period of the infection with 2019-nCoV Omicron variant BA.5.1.3. Methods: Based on the epidemiological survey data of 315 COVID-19 cases and the characteristics of interval censored data structure, log-normal distribution and Gamma distribution were used to estimate the incubation. Bayes estimation was performed for the parameters of each distribution function using discrete time Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. Results: The mean age of the 315 COVID-19 cases was (42.01±16.54) years, and men accounted for 30.16%. A total of 156 cases with mean age of (41.65±16.32) years reported the times when symptoms occurred. The log-normal distribution and Gamma distribution indicated that the M (Q₁, Q₃) of the incubation period from exposure to symptom onset was 2.53 (1.86, 3.44) days and 2.64 (1.91, 3.52) days, respectively, and the M (Q₁, Q₃) of the incubation period from exposure to the first positive nucleic acid detection was 2.45 (1.76, 3.40) days and 2.57 (1.81, 3.52) days, respectively. Conclusions: The incubation period by Bayes estimation based on log-normal distribution and Gamma distribution, respectively, was similar to each other, and the best distribution of incubation period was Gamma distribution, the difference between the incubation period from exposure to the first positive nucleic acid detection and the incubation period from exposure to symptom onset was small. The median of incubation period of infection caused by Omicron variant BA.5.1.3 was shorter than those of previous Omicron variants.
Male ; Humans ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; SARS-CoV-2 ; COVID-19 ; Bayes Theorem ; Infectious Disease Incubation Period ; Nucleic Acids

Objective: To investigate the potential risk factors for occult lateral cervical lymph node metastasis (LNM) to levels Ⅲ and Ⅳ in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and the necessity of super-selective lateral lymph node dissection for patients harboring these metastases. Methods: This prospective study included PTC patients who were operated by the same surgeon in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery of Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from October 2015 through October 2019. Preoperative ultrasound and enhanced Computer Tomography (CT) did not denote suspected enlarged lymph nodes in the lateral neck. All patients underwent lymph node dissection in levels Ⅲ and Ⅳ on the basis of original thyroid collar incision after LNM to level Ⅵ was confirmed by preoperative fine needlebiopsy or intraoperative frozen pathology. Results: Of all 143 patients, 74 (51.7%) had occult LNM in levels Ⅲ and Ⅳ confirmed by postoperative pathology. The average number of metastasized lymph nodes in levels Ⅲ and Ⅳ was 2.64±1.80, and that in level Ⅵ was 3.77±3.27. There was a significant linear positive correlation between the number of metastasized lymph nodes in level Ⅵ and that in levels Ⅲ and Ⅳ (r=0.341, P<0.001). That the metastasized lymph nodes in level Ⅵ equals three was the best predictor of occult lateral LNM to levels Ⅲ and Ⅳ. Univariate analysis showed that age <55 years, tumor size ≥2.0 cm, number of metastasized lymph nodes in level Ⅵ ≥3, and percentage of metastasized lymph nodes in the total number of dissected lymph nodes in level Ⅵ >50% were associated with occult LNM in levels Ⅲ and Ⅳ (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that number of metastasized lymph nodes in level Ⅵ≥3 was an independent risk factor for occult LNM in levels Ⅲ and Ⅳ (P=0.006). Conclusions: Age, tumor size and LNM in level Ⅵ were associated with occult lateral LNM in PTC patients. Lymph node dissection in levels Ⅲ and Ⅳ could be considered for selective patients, since it will help to avoid secondary operation for residual tumor or recurrence resulted from insufficient treatment without increasing the incidence of complications or affecting patients' appearances.